In the computer graphics and GIS (Geographic Information System) communities, the topic of stitching and fusing collections of images to form seamless maps or panoramas has been studied extensively. Such imaging techniques have been used to assemble the large datasets available on Internet services like Keyhole, TerraServer, Bing™ Maps, Google™ Maps, and Yahoo® Maps.
Multiresolution datasets often incorporate several sources of imagery at different scales. For instance, satellite images can be provided at a coarse resolution and aerial photographic images can be used at finer resolutions. Zooming within these maps may reveal jarring transitions. The data sources from which images are drawn often vary significantly in appearance due to differences in spectral response, seasonal changes, lighting and shadows, and custom image processing. Specifically, zooming in or out within a multiresolution image pyramid often results in abrupt changes in appearance (i.e. temporal “popping”). In addition, spatial discontinuities may be observed in static perspective views, as such views access several image pyramid levels simultaneously.